Psalm 145

“I will extol You, my God, O King; and I will bless Your name forever and ever.  Every day I will bless You, and I will praise Your name forever and ever.  Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised; and His greatness is unsearchable.  One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.  I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works.” Psalm 145:1-5 (NKJV)

In today’s psalm, David begins as expected: extolling, blessing and praising the Lord.  It is a worship song, after all.  But the narrative of #145 quickly shifts to reveal that David’s personal worship impacts the entire community.  The speed of the leader determines the speed of the team.  The impact of David’s worship resounds way beyond the fact that David is singing so loudly that nobody can tune him out.  David is telling us that if we want the next generation of believers (and the next and so on…) to worship wholeheartedly, they must learn to do so from us!

If the church of our generation ever needed a message today, it is this one!  Values are not taught.  They are caught!  We can teach & preach doctrine to a filled sanctuary every Sunday, but the people will not value it unless they spend quality time with (and live close to) people who have a dynamic relationship with the Lord.  That is what David describes: Every day, all day, forever.

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7

The great concern of church leaders is that proper Biblical values will not be passed down to the next generation.  And the concern is not unfounded.  Church attendance in our generation is on the decline.  The church of tomorrow is beginning to mirror the generation that ushered in the period of the Judges after Joshua’s generation.

“When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.” Judges 2:10

In fearful response to declining church participation, many church leaders have tried to soften the hard truths of the Gospel and focus only on the positive aspects of God: grace, love, and acceptance.  But when we diminish God’s Word from our teaching, what counsel do we dilute it with?

“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.” Psalm 1:1-2 (NKJV)

Seek the Lord, obey His Word, and share it with both your words and your lifestyle!